Environmental farm planning can help you improve your farm well beyond doing the right thing for the environment. The impacts can reach to all areas of your business from strategy and marketing to financial and operations. In this post consider that environmental farm planning can help you be more efficient, which can save time, money and in some cases, lives. …

Why is Alberta EFP instituting a renewal period? 1. Alberta is the only provincial/territorial EFP that does not have a renewal period. EFP is harmonizing nationally and we expect that all EFPs will need to harmonize their renewal period. 2. EFPs are part of sustainable sourcing programs in Canada (potato sustainability initiative, proAction, VBP). We anticipate more initiatives will use EFPs as …

MULTISAR is a voluntary stewardship program that is focused on achieving multi-species conservation at a landscape level by collaborating with ranchers to find management solutions that mutually benefit the native grassland ecosystem, designated species at risk, and the ranching operation itself. We recognize that many of the species and habitats found in Alberta’s grasslands exist because of the positive practices …

Alberta EFP director Paul Watson: Interim Chair of the National Environmental Farm Plan (NEFP) Steering Committee Upon his arrival at ARECA in 2015, EFP Director Paul Watson began reaching out to his provincial counterparts to evaluate the possibility of the provinces working together to harmonize key environmental components of the EFP. In …

National environmental farm plan urged. Summit chair says national plan will help demonstrate sustainability and ensure market access. Link – http://www.producer.com/2016/11/national-environmental-farm-plan-urged/ OTTAWA — Farmers and industry stakeholders meeting in Ottawa last week say it’s time for a national environmental farm plan. Just how broad that plan should be, however, is up for discussion. Twenty years after the first EFPs were …

Article via Alberta Farmer Express (Link to Article) National Environmental Farm Plan Having a national environmental farm plan could make it easier for producers to market their commodities overseas. “We recognize that farmers have international buyers from around the world that are sourcing Canadian products from more than one jurisdiction,” said Erin Gowriluk, government relations and policy manager at Alberta …

Species At Risk I’m about to launch into a most unpopular topic: species at risk (SAR). Why unpopular? Most people don’t understand much about SAR. What are they? Who decides which species are at risk? What laws protect them? And for farmers, will conserving SAR and their habitat result in more regulation or other things that may impact their livelihood? …